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ISIS Overlooks a Synagogue in Mosul

In the heart of the old city, a local historian discovered strange Hebrew inscriptions.

By

Bernard-Henri Lévy

Oct. 18, 2018 7:03 p.m. ET

In the fall of 2016 I began filming a documentary about the battle to retake Mosul from Islamic State. I made a promise to myself and to my crew: Whatever risks and obstacles the war unpredictably produced, we would reach the burial ground of the prophet Jonah on the Tigris River—right in the middle of the city.

The goal was met. Though the site was buried in rubble and ash, one of our film’s scenes would show the final resting place of the most enigmatic and provocative biblical prophet. When my crew and I deemed our mission...